In the School District of Menomonee Falls, we are committed to getting better every day. Studer Education has been a key partner in our success. Our principals report that the Evidence-Based Leadership_SM framework and coaching have been among the best professional development they have ever received.

As a result of our partnership with Studer Education, SCUC has made real progress in three, mission-critical areas:

• We had made some progress with “balanced scorecard,” but still felt like it lacked something. Studer helped us translate our balanced scorecard into an annual action plan.  We have become much clearer about how strategic actions and leading indicators aligned to our strategic plan.
• We have become much clearer about key work processes and, additionally, set forth a systematic measurement protocol seeking feedback on “how we are doing” on these processes. This work is tough, yet critical for our success.  Studer’s guidance in this work was crucial.
• “Rounding” is now standard operating procedure in SCUC. Leaders at all levels of the organization understand the importance of building relationships with all levels of staff as well as “listening and learning” from our front line employees.

As a result of our partnership with Studer Education, our district has a renewed focus on being not just a strong educational institution, but also an exceptional employer. In three short years, our gains in employee engagement far exceeds expectations. Being an employer of choice is critical in this climate of educator shortages; and, Studer Education has helped us to attract and retain the most talented educators in our region. 

The aspect I appreciate most about our partnership with Studer Education is their level of expertise about how to systematically improve an organization one step at a time.  This is a significant challenge for a district our size; however, they have helped me develop a strategic plan of attack that is both coherent and feasible.  They have been very supportive of my time frame and I appreciate the fact they (Nannette Johnston) understand what it’s like to sit in the Superintendent’s seat.  Their work is based upon factual research and their approach is much in line with my philosophical beliefs about how best to create excellence within an organization.  It starts with the culture and includes the identification, implementation, and monitoring of well-defined processes that ensure our goals and targets are met.

Our Studer Education coach really goes above and beyond in providing high quality learning & coaching for us.  Following a recent training with our leadership team, I walked in the room, and a team member said to me in front of everyone, "THAT was just what we needed." People agreed. THAT is music to my ears!

Studer Education's support of our school district is personalized and responsive to our needs. Our coaching partner has a deep understanding of us as an organization, of our goals, and of our strengths and needs in attaining those goals. Our work with Studer Education makes us stronger on every level. 

I've been in the profession for almost three decades. The application of the leadership principles described in this book has changed the impact of my work. Our school district performance is at an all-time high. This work has given our school and district leaders specific tools that prepare them to build a culture of engagement and service. Maximize Performance focuses on creating an excellent school system. This work provides easy-to-understand tactics that academic and operational leaders can use to guide a systems-improvement process. Making the work stick matters. The Studer team has been with us along the way.

We have been applying the Evidence-Based Leadership_SM Framework for several years and we've seen our student achievement, employee engagement and parent satisfaction results increase each year. The training in our Leadership Development Institutes makes the School District of Janesville a better place for staff to work and for parents to send their children.

The Evidence-Based Leadership_SM Model works. This model helps all leaders focus on transparent communication with staff, students and parents. Communication that cascades throughout the district makes a more cohesive organization that creates a great place for staff to work, students to learn and parents to send their children for an education.